Sasuke blinks at her.
He is sitting very nicely on the grass, his posture stiff and upright. He hasn't fidgeted once in the whole time Sakura's watched him.
"What are you playing?" He asks cautiously.
"Monsters. You have to run around and eat bad guys." Sakura says proudly. She's not embarrassed by being a Monster anymore. She made the game up all by herself. She doesn't feel as shy and timid as she used to, not after running around and growling at strangers for so long.
"I – I don't think my mother would let me play that." Sasuke balks, looking off to the side as if seeking help. Naruto lets out a tiny scoff from behind Sakura.
All of the Monsters have swarmed both Sakura and Sasuke. She can see Ino leaning against a tree, watching them closely through narrowed eyes. Shikamaru and Chouji are lurking behind her, both of their chakra's tense as if waiting for something to go wrong. Naruto is standing so close to her that she can feel the heat from his body.
"Well, is your mother here now?" Sakura demands.
"No…"
"So, c'mon, let's play! What's your name?"
Sasuke straightens up, "Uchiha Sasuke."
That name has hurt her too much. She won't ever say Sasuke-kun again, not with joy or love or anguish. Not anymore.
"Okay then, I'll call you Sasuke."
His face slowly turns red. "Y-you can't! That's too familiar, you should be more – "
"And I'm Haruno Sakura. You can call me whatever you like." As long as it's not Sakura, the way he says it in her dreams, all deep and drawling. This Sasuke's voice is barely deeper than hers.
"Sakura-san, then."
"Hmm… Not Sakura-chan? Or even just Sakura?"
"No!"
This isn't going very well. Naruto's chakra is bristling like an angry cat. A ripple of offense went through it when she called him Sasuke. Oh dear.
Sakura decides to be reasonable. She sits down in front of Sasuke, so she's not towering above him anymore, and offers him a warm smile. His chakra stutters a little.
"I want to be friends with you," She says slowly, "So I'd like it if we could be less formal with each other."
Sasuke looks deeply suspicious. "Why do you want to be friends with me?"
Ah. Naruto had said something about how he had a ton of girl fans, and from what Sakura has gathered about her dream-self, she must have been one of them. He must be worried that she like likes him.
"Because every time I see you at the park, you're either alone or with your mother." Sakura says frankly.
Sasuke's face reddens again. "What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing. I've met your mother, she seems really nice. But I thought maybe you needed someone to play with who's your age."
"How old are you?"
"Four."
Sasuke squints at her, then at Naruto. "So, why does he call you Sakura-nee? Naruto's four, too."
Naruto takes in a deep breath, clearly about to yell something. Sakura cuts in hastily, "My birthday's in March, Naruto's is October. He's only just turned four, I've been four for ages. He's my little brother."
Sasuke frowns, "No, he isn't. Naruto doesn't have any family."
Sakura feels the hurt pierce through Naruto, and grits her teeth. She says very clearly, "Yes he does. I'm his big sister. I am, because I say so."
"That's not how it works. I have a big brother, because we've got the same parents." Sasuke says patiently, as though he's actually trying to teach her something.
"And is your big brother nice to you?" Naruto demands, suddenly throwing himself down on the grass next to Sakura. Sasuke looks startled for a moment, then nods hesitantly. "Is he really cool? And does he treat you like you're special?"
"Yes." Sasuke whispers, looking at his feet.
"Well, Sakura-nee does all that for me. When we're bigger we're gonna live in a house together with a pond and fish and probably even a dog. You're right, I don't have parents to share with her. But who cares? I don't even know who my parents are. Maybe we are really brother and sister. You don't know! C'mon, Sakura-nee. I told you he didn't want friends."
Sasuke flinches, his lips pulling into a scowl that warps his childish face into something more dangerous. "Whatever! I don't care, dobe."
"Seems like you do, brat." Shikamaru drawls, mimicking Sasuke's scathing tone.
No. No. They have to be friends.
"Is everything okay?" Mikoto calls. She's walking over with another Uchiha at her side, the classic dark hair and eyes giving him away. He looks almost familiar.
Sasuke bites his lip and nods. "Yes. They just wanted to play, but… I said I was busy."
"Are they bothering you?" The strange Uchiha asks. He's almost as tall as Mikoto. He's wearing his hair tied back in a low ponytail and he has lines on his face like Shisui.
"Itachi-nii – "
(Kakashi bursts out of the ground, his arm outstretched in an uppercut. Itachi dodges casually, without the slightest change in expression, and brushes Kakashi's fist aside. Sakura feels a gut punch of terror – he's going to kill Kakashi-sensei and there's nothing she can do!)
"Sakura-nee?" Naruto says, his voice high and afraid. He's put his hand on her forehead, as if testing for a fever.
She's broken out into a sweat. The world around her has faded into static and white noise, a dull roar pressing against her.
Itachi wore a black coat with red clouds. He looked older, but she could never tell how much. All grown-ups looked the same. One thing was certain: Sakura had been scared out of her mind just by his mere presence. She had been absolutely convinced that he was going to kill Kakashi. She still hasn't dreamed Kakashi's death, but that doesn't mean anything. This boy – Sasuke's precious big brother – might grow up to murder her newest friend.
"Sakura-chan, please – sweetheart, can you hear me? Are your parents nearby?" Mikoto keeps asking questions, her voice a low drone of concern buzzing in the background.
It's like the time she meditated with Shisui and couldn't stop. She can't break out of the dream-state –
Then, the smell of freesias and two hands on her shoulders.
Ino's pale blue eyes stare into hers.
"This isn't funny, Sakura-chan. What's wrong?"
Sakura blinks. Her eyes feel raw and tender, like she's rubbed them a bit too hard. She blinks a few more times, until the world comes back into focus.
Ino's face fills her vision, so Sakura tilts her head back and sees Sasuke, looking pale and concerned. Shikamaru is blank-faced, his posture casual, but his chakra is awake and aware, scanning for details. Chouji looks sick with worry. Naruto's chakra is just as worried, but with an acid touch of dark fury at its core. It feels wrong in ways Sakura can't describe.
And Itachi is standing a little far off, arms folded, eyes narrowed. He's pulled his chakra right back. Like he's hiding.
"Are you back with us, sweetheart?" Mikoto asks, reaching out to Sakura, who can't hold back a flinch. She feels like her feelings are written on her face for the world to see. An open wound, blood seeping through white cloth.
"Ino-chan." Sakura says, faint. Ino's hands dig into her shoulders.
"I'm here." Ino says, fierce as always.
"Can we go home, please?"
Ino slowly takes her hand, entwining their fingers together. "Of course. We're leaving, Uchiha-san. Naruto, let's meet up tomorrow. Same time, same place, okay?"
Naruto is holding back tears. He manages a nod.
Ino wraps an arm around Sakura's shoulders, tucking their clasped hands in-between them, and starts to guide her out of the park.
"My dad is really good at helping people," Ino says in a low voice, tugging Sakura away from the crowds, "He'll know what to do."
"Oh, please don't tell him." Sakura says, aghast. She hates the idea of Ino's father thinking she's odd. That there's something wrong with her. He already scares her a little bit.
Ino frowns at that, "But I don't know how to help you. And… Sakura-chan… you do need help. You just froze. You went all pale and shaky and it took ages for you to snap out of it. It… it was like you were having a nightmare with your eyes open. You started crying and you said, 'please, don't hurt him.'"
Sakura goes cold. She spoke out loud during a dream? Right in front of Mikoto and Itachi, and all of the Monsters? What if she's done it before? She might have given something important away to someone she knows she can't trust, like Kabuto or Itachi or… maybe even Sasuke.
"You can't tell your dad. I-if you do… I'll never forgive you, okay?" Sakura pulls away from Ino, freeing her hand from her lax grip and ducking under her arm.
Ino's chakra recoils in hurt. "Sakura-chan…"
"I'll see you tomorrow, Ino-chan."
Then, Sakura does what she's been doing a lot lately.
She runs.
xxxxxxxx
Stop crying, you baby, she thinks angrily.
She's almost home.
She stopped running a little while back, when it occurred to her that someone might find her stamina suspicious. She is just so tired of having to hide everything. It's so hard, pretending to be normal. She keeps slipping up in the stupidest ways, and now apparently she's messing up in ways she can't even control.
She has to find out the truth behind her dreams. She needs to figure out how to control them. If she could decide what to see when she needed to see it – that would be incredibly useful. Much more useful than the random flashes of trauma she keeps seeing.
"Hey, Forehead!"
Oh.
Sakura stops.
Ami is smirking at her from across the street, surrounded by her friends. Sakura had imagined meeting her again, but this time with all the Monsters by her side, ready to defend her with claws and fangs if necessary.
But, she's alone.
"H-hello." She says hesitantly.
Ami bursts out laughing, as if she's said something hilarious. The rest of the girls follow suit. "H-h-h-hello!" Ami mimics her, "I'm Forehead Girl, a walking freak of nature! Wow, I can't believe you're out in the open, where anyone could see you. I thought being that ugly would make you stay indoors all day!"
"I-Ino-chan thinks I'm beautiful." Sakura says, self-consciously tucking her hair behind her ear. She understands why Ino told her to keep her forehead bare, to show she's not embarrassed, but… she is embarrassed. Like Shisui said, it just feels like a big target.
"Yeah, right. Ino just feels sorry for you. In fact, I bet the only reason she's nice to you at all is because she looks prettier with someone like you by her side."
"I don't think Ino cares about looks as much as you do." Sakura suggests. Ami sucks in a breath, her gaze turning venomous.
"I don't think you think at all, Forehead. I think your brain is so hideously swollen that you can barely talk. We saw you trying to talk to Sasuke-kun just now. You actually thought he'd want to join in your freakish little games!" Ami lets out a little peal of laughter. Sakura's face feels hot. "Look at you! With your gross, red forehead! As if Sasuke-kun would hang out with someone like you! You actually started crying, didn't you? It was so pathetic!"
Sakura is shaking again. She won't cry. She won't.
"Do you know what's truly pathetic?" A voice says, smooth and casual. Sakura jumps – she hadn't sensed anyone approaching.
Itachi emerges from the shadows, Sasuke in tow. Itachi looks as blank and stoic as ever, but as Sakura concentrates, she can feel traces of anger in his chakra. Sasuke is outright glaring.
Ami has gone pale, "U-um…"
"Little girls who think they can go through life picking on people who won't fight back. Do you know what the problem with that is?" Itachi smiles, a gentlemanly kind of smile. It looks eerie. "Eventually, you'll find someone who will fight back. And since you've wasted so much time being concerned over looks and what boys think, you won't be strong enough to defend yourself. Am I wrong?"
Ami's eyes are darting around. She looks as if she wishes the ground would swallow her up.
"I would hang out with Sakura." Sasuke says hotly. Sakura notices Itachi's eyes flicker between them, the faint pulse of amusement at Sasuke's familiarity. "I don't even know who you are, and yet you think you know me?"
Ami looks close to tears herself, now.
The other girls have stepped back.
"It's okay," Sakura says softly, "He doesn't hate you, I swear. It's okay – you don't have to – "
"Shut up!" Ami bursts out, "Don't try to suck up to me, you little – "
Itachi glares, red flashing across his eyes. Sakura feels a swoop of fear in her stomach at the sight.
Ami and the girls run for it.
"You're not supposed to do that," Sasuke says, "You know how much trouble you'll get in?"
"Only if someone finds out." Itachi winks at his little brother, who ducks his head to hide his smile.
Could Sakura's dream be wrong? Itachi seems nice. He defended her from Ami. He clearly loves Sasuke. Maybe her older self misunderstood the fight with Kakashi. Maybe they were just sparring.
Maybe Naruto really was just sleeping.
But probably not.
"Thank you." Sakura says, offering a little bow.
Itachi's smile matches his chakra, unrestrained. At ease. The complete opposite of when they were in the park with everyone else.
"A friend of Sasuke's is a friend of mine." He says, returning the bow with a little nod. Sasuke flushes.
"We're not… actually…" He mumbles.
"We can be." Sakura speaks up, surprising herself. "If you can come to the park tomorrow, we'll all be there. And if you want to, you can play with us. Whatever you want."
Sasuke stares at her for a long moment.
("You really are…" Sasuke turns to look at her, with an expression she's never seen before on his face. A rueful smirk, a touch of… fondness? Could he really – "Annoying." He finishes, his smirk tightening at the corners.)
Sasuke gives her a tiny smile. "Okay. If I'm free tomorrow… I'll see you at the park."
Sakura beams at him. "Great. Bye bye!"
"Goodb – uh, bye bye." Sasuke gives an awkward wave, a flush covering his cheeks, then he sticks his hands in his pockets and starts to leave.
"Feel better soon, Sakura-san." Itachi says over his shoulder. The last thing she feels from him before he restrains his chakra is a flicker of concern.
"Be good." Sakura says.
Itachi stops. "Excuse me?"
Sakura looks him right in the eye. "Be good, okay?"
Itachi seems baffled. "I will… try my best?"
Sakura studies him. There's not a trace of red in his eyes. Maybe… maybe he's as nice as he seems. Maybe not. Either way, she'll be nice to him until the day she finds out whether or not he really is good. And then, she'll protect Kakashi.
She gives him a smile. "Thank you for helping me."
Itachi studies her right back. What he finds seems to be good, because his answering smile is breath-taking, "Next time, fight back."
xxxxxxxx
Both her parents are home for once, which is nice.
Sakura is sitting at the top of the stairs, waiting to be called down for dinner. She's puzzling over her notes. She remembers how she used to diagnose problems – she would investigate her patient's system with her chakra – and even recalls specific instances of dealing with lung problems. They can be nasty, with black, curling disease eating away at the organs, choking the breath out of the poor patient. She remembers the satisfaction she would feel after clearing someone's lungs and hearing their breathing even out, the crackling easing, the relief on their faces.
Being a medic had felt right. She had been consumed by fears of being useless, helpless, a waste of a hitae-ate. And then… something happened to change that. She became someone useful. She's going to do that again.
She's pretty sure Hayate is going to die soon. At least, in future Sakura's lifetime. She has maybe ten years to figure out how to save him. She's going to.
A quiet knock at the front door disturbs her concentration. She scrambles away from the stairs, scooting back on the landing. She can still see the door from her position, but whoever is visiting would have to work hard to see her.
A door opens from inside the house, the smell of dumplings curling out of the kitchen. Sakura's mother hurries down the hall, wiping her hands on her apron.
Mikoto smiles at her mother from the doorway. Sakura feels a sickening jolt of anxiety. What is she doing here?
"Mikoto-san?" Sakura's mother sounds as confused as she is.
"Hello, Mebuki-san. I'm so sorry for the intrusion at this late hour. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time?" Mikoto's voice is so quiet that Sakura has to strain to hear it.
Sakura's mother lets the other woman in, her face carefully blank. Sakura can feel her curiosity, mixed with a little trepidation.
They go into the living room, where Sakura's father greets them, his voice a low murmur. Sakura shifts, creeping down the stairs quietly. She'll have to keep track of the adults by the pulse of their chakra.
"What's this about, Mikoto-san?" Sakura's father asks, cautious but polite.
"Well, recently, your daughter has become friends with my son, Sasuke. I've had cause to notice certain… issues. She's a very sweet, polite young girl, but I'm afraid that, in my professional opinion, she appears to be traumatised."
A flare of anger from her mother. "Excuse me?"
"I've seen cases like hers before. In children as young as her." Mikoto is calm, unlike both of Sakura's parents.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that my Itachi fought in a war at Sakura's age. And when he came home, he kept what he had suffered inside. But on occasion, upon facing certain triggers, he would show signs of fear or anger – we could be having a normal dinner and someone would say something, and then his eyes would glaze over and… do you know what it's like, to see your child change like that? To be happy, loving and just like every other child their age, and then overnight, they've become something… damaged?"
There was a long silence.
"…Yes." Sakura's mother whispers.
Sakura stumbles back. Damaged? Her mother thinks she's damaged?
"But Sakura has never fought at all, let alone in a war. She's completely untrained, she's never even been in a scrap with another kid. How could she be traumatised?"
"Does she have nightmares?"
Another telling silence.
"I know both of you quite well, if you don't mind me saying. I don't believe Sakura is suffering at home. But she is suffering from something."
"Or someone." Her mother says, her voice coated in anger.
"It's possible," Mikoto says heavily, grief in her voice, "I'm so sorry. I wouldn't wish this on anyone."
"This is my fault. I let her walk around Konoha alone all the time." Sakura's mother says, choked.
"It's not your fault, Mebuki," Her father says gently, "How could you know… how could any of us ever think something like this…"
Her mother lets out a broken sob.
Sakura's stomach clenches. This is her fault.
"Itachi saw someone for a while. It seemed to help. If you want, I can pass on Sakura's details…"
Sakura can't hear anymore. She runs upstairs, soundless as ever, and throws herself on her bed. She tugs the blanket over her head. It's dark and already too warm.
Sakura squeezes her eyes shut and prays for sleep.
xxxxxxxx
"Hello, Sakura-chan," The woman smiles at her from across the desk, "My name is Sasaki Mariko. You can call me Mariko."
"Hello, Sasaki-san." Sakura replies.
Everything about the room seems carefully designed to put her at ease. The walls are soft pink, the curtains are pale blue. The desk is low, so she isn't struggling to see over it. The chair she sits in is cushioned and comfortable. There are even toys in a box in the corner. The ones she can see are the sort she used to enjoy playing with.
Sasaki's smile does not waver, but she does discreetly write something down. Sakura imagines she's noting her refusal to use Mariko. The woman will probably interpret that as an attempt to create distance between them by sticking to formalities. Sakura just doesn't like talking to grownups.
"Do you know why we're here today?" The woman asks. Her voice is sweet, like she's talking to a treasured friend.
"I'm here because my parents told me I had to come," Sakura replies honestly, "I guess you're here because someone told you to come, too."
Sasaki laughs. "I suppose that's true, in a way. But in my opinion, Sakura-chan, you're here because your behaviour has proved troubling to some of the people around you. Troubling doesn't always mean that there is a problem. After all, I imagine most of us end up being troublesome to someone at some point, right? But it's always best to get these things checked out, in case there really is a problem."
"What kind of problem?" Sakura asks.
"Well, a person's behaviour is a reflection of their feelings. If we feel badly, we may behave the same way. Sometimes, the only way to see how someone is feeling is to observe how they behave."
"I haven't been badly behaved."
"A poor choice of words on my part. How about this: if you have a stomach-ache, you might hold your tummy and look sad, right? That shows how you're feeling on the outside. And if you are going through a bad time, you might cry a lot or act out. That shows how you're feeling, too. Can you tell me how you're feeling?"
"I'm a bit bored." Sakura says.
"Let's get right to the point, then. You've been having nightmares."
"Yes."
"What about?"
"Everybody dying."
Sasaki blinks. Her pencil lowers to the page, then stops, hanging in mid-air. "I see. What do you mean by everybody?"
"Ino-chan, Naruto. Me too, sometimes."
"Can you tell me about these nightmares?"
"I guess. Ino-chan hurts her head when she falls down and then she doesn't get up again. Naruto-nii… he's looking at me, but he can't see me. Because he's dead."
"Have you ever seen someone die in real life, Sakura-chan?"
Dreams don't count as real life. "No."
"When did these nightmares start?"
"I don't know." It's true. Her grasp on time isn't the best. She doesn't know how long she's known Naruto.
"Did something happen to you?"
("What a shame," The enemy nin breathes his foul breath in her face, the kunai twisting in her gut, "What a waste of a pretty face.")
Sakura stiffens in her seat. She's broken out into a sweat. The blood rushed from her face, leaving her pale. She touches her stomach tentatively, expecting to feel the warm wetness of blood. It's a relief to feel nothing more than the soft fabric of her dress.
Sasaki's sharp eyes missed nothing.
"You're a very smart girl, aren't you?" She says, her smile warm. Sakura just nods, confused by the abrupt change in subject. "I bet your parents are very proud."
They are. Her mother pins her drawings up on the wall. Her father smiles whenever he sees her reading.
"They're both shinobi, right?"
"Uh-huh. Chuunin. They go on missions a lot."
"What happens to you while they're gone?"
"My grandmother comes over."
"Do you like seeing your grandmother?"
"She's okay."
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Sakura thinks about it. She knows what she should be – a medic nin. But Shisui had pointed out that she could potentially have any kind of medical-related job. She could be an Academy teacher. She could open a shop and sell useless knick-knacks. It's difficult to think about what can be when you know exactly what you will be.
"I don't know if I'll specialise in anything yet, but I'm going to join the Academy and become a shinobi."
"Like your parents."
"Yeah."
"Is that what they want?"
"I don't know. We've not talked about it yet. But they help people and that's what I want to do."
"Do you think your parents want you to be a shinobi?"
"No. I guess it's dangerous and they would probably want me to do something safer. Like be a librarian. But my grandmother – she's my mother's mother – she's not a shinobi. And she's okay with my mother being one. So it's okay."
"I see. What kind of games do you play with your parents?"
"Sometimes my dad lets me climb up the stairs without using the stairs."
Sasaki's eyes widen slightly. "O-oh?"
"Yeah. I walk on the bannister instead. It's okay though – he's always ready to catch me." Sakura frowns as something occurs to her, "Don't tell my mother, okay? She'd get mad."
"And what's your mother like when she gets mad?"
Sakura giggles, "Funny! Her face gets red and she starts whistling so she won't say bad words. Then my dad tells a joke and she laughs and doesn't whistle anymore."
"What about when your dad gets mad?"
"Dad doesn't get mad." Sakura says, matter-of-fact.
"Everyone gets mad."
"Dad doesn't." Sakura eyes her suspiciously.
"Well, that's nice. What do you do when you get mad?"
Sakura sits back.
(She strikes the man once in the chest. His ribs splinter, blood spurts forth. He looks shocked. Dead people often do.)
Sakura pushes the dream away, flinching at the memory of the man's face.
"I see." Sasaki says calmly.
xxxxxxxx
Kakashi, please read the attached file. It's an updated report on Haruno Sakura's psychological profile. If possible, you should call for a meeting to discuss the contents.
Genma.
'Haruno Sakura
Symptoms:
Nightmares
Flashbacks
Sudden change in mood
Advanced maturity
Difficulty relating to peers
Secretive
Unusual knowledge of death
The subject displays high intelligence and an above-average vocabulary. Her ability to communicate borders on adult, and she shows preoccupation with unchildlike issues, such as the economical state of the village and clan relations. Her advanced maturity, coupled with an intense fear of her loved ones dying violently, seems to indicate that she has witnessed violent acts. Haruno briefly described one of her nightmares of Uzumaki Naruto's death, and mentioned that he was 'looking at her,' even though he was dead. She referred to another friend, 'Ino,' as having died of a head injury, mentioning that she 'fell down' and her head was hurt.
Haruno is extremely anxious about the living conditions of her friends, particularly Naruto, whom she seems to view as solely her responsibility. I asked her why she has to look after Naruto and she replied 'because no one else wants to.' Her friendship with Naruto borders on co-dependent. I would not recommend separating the two at this stage - both would struggle without the other – but they need to be encouraged to seek out other friends, not just each other and 'the monsters,' as Haruno refers to them. As it stands, Haruno's obsession with looking after Naruto is causing her an unusual amount of stress and guilt. Haruno needs to be reminded of her age, and to be allowed to simply be a child. If Naruto's home life improves, she may feel less responsibility towards him.
Haruno also displays hypervigilance. She was uncomfortable sitting with her back to the door and constantly shifted positions to accommodate herself. She may suffer from flashbacks, as she frequently gazed into the distance and became unresponsive to questions, often in response to questions. Certain 'trigger' phrases included were: 'Did something happen to you?' – she indicated fear and disgust and covered her stomach with her hands as a self-comforting gesture – and 'What do you do when you get mad?' – she indicated shame and guilt.
Reports seem to indicate that Haruno is starved of affection. She approaches other children and adults with the same desperation to make friends with them. She seems unaware of the inappropriateness of this behaviour. This need for attention would ordinarily indicate parental neglect, which does not seem to be the case in this situation. Haruno requires constant supervision.
I cannot confidently make any sort of judgement based on one session, but I can say with some certainty that I believe Haruno Sakura is not a normal four-year-old girl. If she has not previously been abused, then she is currently being abused. At this point it seems highly unlikely that the potential abuse is coming from home – Haruno had no negative indicators regarding her parents, and displayed none of the usual signs of a child with an unhappy home, aside from an unusual lack of separation anxiety from her parents, despite her age. I recommend vetting the people who have access to Haruno, and making sure she is not being exposed to anything harmful by outside influences.'
Whoops.
Sakura, you had ONE JOB. BE COOL. ACT NORMAL.
To be fair, I thought long and hard about how Sakura would appear to all the adults around her, and figured… it looks bad. She really does display some worrying signs. I don't think even ninja would jump straight to 'she must be a time traveller,' soooo they've jumped to completely the wrong conclusion! What fun.
(How do you think Kakashi, Genma, Shisui and all the rest of the overprotective badasses Sakura has somehow befriended will react to the news that Sakura is potentially being abused? I think it'll be fine. No drama at all. Muahahahaha!)
Also, befriending Sasuke took almost the entire chapter. MY GOD, MAN. I kept rewriting the opening scene because Sasuke is so hard to write. Pray for me.
I actually didn't make up Ami! She's a legit Naruto character. She has purple hair and she's really mean to Sakura for no reason. Ino owns her in a beautifully legendary way.
I'm almost completely better, by the way! Thank you for putting up with my whining. I still have a headache and my appetite is very slowly recovering, but everything else is 100% okay! :D I guess it was just a long-ass virus that took its sweet time pissing off.
I had originally planned to age Sakura up by this point but… baby Saku is so much bloody fun to write! I hope you're prepared for more of her ;)
What happens when a baby genius meets another baby genius? Sakura and Itachi happen, that's what. I've been almoooost writing Itachi into pretty much every chapter, then chickening out at the last minute. But here he is! Smiling and friendly! It's super weird writing pre-massacre Itachi. He's a completely different character. Especially since he's like, nine, here. To be fair he's apparently thirteen when he does The Murder and he looks at least twenty-five. Like what the fuck, Kishi. The boy was prepubescent?
More than one person is concerned that this is SasuSaku. Have no fear. The OTP has not been chosen yet. It might even turn out to just be a BROTP. Sakura has a lot of shit to sort out. She doesn't have time for love!
It's 2018! WHY DON'T WE HAVE JETPACKS YET
Quick poll for fun: What's your favourite Naruto OTP?
No judgements here, friend. If you like crack pairings, it's better than real crack.